


You’re So Lovely

by uwusunflower



Category: Canada's Drag Race RPF, RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: AND CUTE?, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Canon Lesbian Relationship, F/F, Lemon also being a useless lesbian, Rita being a mom, fluff but with angst and flashbacks JSKDJKSKS, lemon being a dork with social anxiety, lesbian cuteness?, priyanka being a useless lesbian, um....gay?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:41:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25899871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uwusunflower/pseuds/uwusunflower
Summary: In which Priyanka starts visiting a local cafe just to get a glimpse at a blonde barista.
Relationships: Lemon/Priyanka
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	You’re So Lovely

Priyanka allowed an exhausted groan to escape her, tossing the overloaded backpack she had been hauling around all day to the ground with a careless thud before flopping onto her bed tiredly. Her longest days were Wednesdays, by far. Three classes back to back in the early morning and an extended shift working at her University’s Merch store, selling overpriced graphic t-shirts to freshman sorority girls who would most likely drop before the end of their first year on campus. There was only so much magic a few Red Bull minis could work in the system of a stressed out nineteen year old. The dark-haired girl buried her face into her pillow, feeling extremely tempted to call it a night… despite it being barely past four o’clock in the afternoon, the late sun casting rays of light through the dorm’s curtains.

“Rough day, 𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳?” Her roommate questioned, the blonde’s eyes glancing over her laptop screen to check on the Indian woman and her visible frustration. 

Priyanka pushed her face out of her pillow, propping up on her elbows to look in the direction of the other girl. Her roommate had a concerned look on her face, occupied underneath a nest-like pile of blankets. “Rough doesn’t even begin to describe my life right now, Rita,” she pouted, more than in the mood to throw a small pity-party for herself. “I have to finish like three papers in the next two days and it sucks.”

Her words were accurate, as rough genuinely was a large underestimate of how awful off Priyanka felt in that moment. She felt suffocated by just the thought of all the new assignments she had received that week, piling on top of older ones and extra credit work too. Despite being pretty smart for her age, smart enough to get a full ride scholarship, her brain felt like it was melting into an oozing puddle. There was a lot of work that went into being a science teacher that Priyanka had stupidly yet to anticipate. 

The blonde raised an eyebrow, sending her friend a knowing glance. “And this is why we use our time productively instead of playing animal crossing into wee hours of the night, hm?” 

Priyanka rolled her eyes, already over Rita’s antics, despite how accurate they were. 

The pair had met through their shared mutual friend Kiara, a creative arts major and former highschool friend of Rita’s. Considering Kiara had an apartment of her own off campus, Priyanka opted to room with the French Canadian girl. They had a relationship similar to that of one an older and younger sister would share, often getting into small arguments over things like taking out the trash and laundry, but ultimately held nothing but genuine love for one another. 

“Listen,” the dishwater blonde woman started, pushing her laptop aside to sit at the edge of Pri’s bed. Her hand rested on the other girl’s back, rubbing gentle circles into her skin through the thick material of her grey crew neck. “How about we go out for coffee? Because I wanna get out of this stuffy dorm, and you….look like you could use an espresso, or several. Considering you’ve once again procrastinated all of your assignments, you chaotic bitch.”

Priyanka nodded weakly, pulling a chunky velvet scrunchie out of her hair, collapsing what was previously a messy bun of dark hair into a mess of frizz. “Thanks, Rita,” she smiled, thankful for the psychology major's presence.

“Don’t sweat it,” she responded in her average tone, her accent as thick as ever. “Now, spray some dry shampoo into that rat’s nest of yours and for god sakes put some real shoes on, not those Ugg monstrosities of yours.”

Shuga’s was a small corner cafe, only a quick ten minute drive away from the pair's shared dormitory space. It’s exterior was simultaneously foreign to Priyanka and familiar to Rita, who was a frequent customer of the small shops. Despite her roommates' invitations to join her for her typical coffee-bound outings, Priyanka had never opted to tag along with her before. She always preferred a Red Bull to a latte when she felt a caffeine craving, not harboring any sort of appreciation for hot coffee, or any kind of coffee for that matter. Even then, she had originally anticipated a Starbucks drive-through instead of the sweet little building in front of her, hosting an outside seating area occupied by small bistro tables underneath amethyst purple umbrellas.

As Rita pulled the inattentive girl inside, she inhaled deeply, a slow, content sigh slowly leaving her only moments later. “ 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘶, I could get high on the scent of coffee,” she joked, giggling as Priyanka rolled her eyes jokingly at her friend’s dramatics. 

Rita was right, the sweet aromas of coffee and vanilla bean were strong, and enticing to say the very least. The shop's interior was just similar to that of any other average, indie scene cafe, which is why Priyanka was so shocked to see someone as high-maintenance as Rita approaching the front counter. The back wall behind the counter, surprisingly unoccupied with any baristas, was adorned with strands of Christmas lights, reminiscent of those strung along Priyanka’s bedpost back in the dorms. A series of colorful ceramic mugs of varying shapes and sizes decorated floating shelves attached to the white brick wall, above differing glass jars of powdered sugars and spices lining the pristine white counter space. The energy within the space felt oddly comforting to Pri, despite it being entirely new to her. There was something homey about it’s atmosphere, and the quiet sounds of life surrounding it. 

Rita groaned, swiftly pulling the other girl away from her observing. “Where is a barista when you need one, putain de merde…” she complained aloud, scrolling through her Instagram feed as the device started ringing. “Stay here, do nothing stupid, and if by the love of God an employee shows up get me a blonde vanilla latte asap,” she instructed, leaving Priyanka as she answered the call, heeled ankle boots quietly clicking as she stepped outside of the store-front.

“Oh my gosh I’m so freaking sorry, how long have you been waiting? I’m so so sorry for the wait, I’m new- well, not really, actually, I’m kind of a recent hire- you know what, nevermind. What can I get for you today?” 

The young Indian woman jumped, her attention directed from Rita’s absence to the presence of the soft-spoken voice that seemed to be speaking to her. She shook her head, urging herself to snap out of whatever exhaustion-induced haze was causing her to act like an overly distracted imbecile. “I’m really sorry, I’m kind of running on two hours of sleep and didn’t catch any of tha-”

Priyanka felt herself trailing off in her words, her eyes taking in the petite girl in front of her. “You’re… really pretty,” she breathed, feeling slightly starstruck.

The blonde girl behind the counter flushed at the compliment, a deep blush overtaking her entire face. “Um...thank you,” she responded, her voice cracking between her words.

Realizing her thoughts had slipped from her brain to her mouth and fell out as words aloud, Priyanka also blushed, swallowing thickly. “Shit I didn’t mean to- you know what, can we start this entire dialogue over again please?” 

She really was very, extremely, insanely pretty, at least to Pri, who felt the need to keep her mouth cemented shut to keep herself from drooling, or saying something else stupid. Her hair was pretty, pale yellow-blonde curls midway down her back, tendrils of shorter hairs framing her face from underneath a mustard yellow hair scarf. A scattered sprinkling of freckles dotted across the bridge of her nose and the apples of her pale cheeks. Rosy pink lips, the gentle slope of her nose, the delicate golden necklaces hanging around her neck, hazel green eyes behind circular tortoise eyeglasses, and long, dark lashes that were too perfect to be some kind of falsies. 

She was really much more than really pretty.

She giggled, exposing a toothy grin, Priyanka taking notice of the chip in her front tooth. It was cute. 

“Totally,” the blonde agreed. “I’m Lena. Now, what can I get you, girl who’s name I don’t know?”

Priyanka sent her a nervous smile, feeling herself slightly easing up. “Priyanka, but my friends just call me Pri. I came with my friend-”

“Rita!” The blonde interjected, smiling brightly. “Yeah, she’s a regular, or, that’s what Shugs told me,” she shrugged, retrieving a disposable hot-drink cup from a small stack and writing on its exterior with a sparkly pink marker. 

“Shugs?” 

Lena nodded, flipping a few switches on a metal machine that looked largely intense to Priyanka, who watched her as she worked, and slid the cup underneath it. “Yeah, the owner,” she explained. “She hired me a few weeks back before leaving on maternity. She’s a surrogate for this really nice lesbian couple who own a little boutique a street or so over, Scarlet and Yvie? Cute couple, a little cuckoo crazy for PDA, but sweet people nonetheless,” she rambled, blushing once she realized she had been rambling. “Oh my gosh sorry, you probably don’t have much interest in the lives of total strangers,” she laughed nervously, fiddling with a small initial charm hanging off of her necklace.

Priyanka couldn’t help the smile that made its way onto her face. Watching Lena ramble was quite possibly the most endearing thing she had ever seen. She was like a golden-retriever puppy or something. “No, you’re all good blondie. I like talking to you, whether it is or isn’t about strangers,” she assured.

Realizing something as she placed a small plastic lid on Rita’s regular, Lena frowned. “Sorry, I got super carried away and distracted because you have a super nice face, not that the rest of you isn’t nice! I-” she let out a breath, restarting. “Do you want some kind of coffee or should I just keep making a total fool out of myself? I haven’t spilled anything or broken a mug yet, so it can only progress from here.”

The dark-haired girl shook her head, laughing at Lena’s antics once more. “Okay, one- you’re adorable, seriously, please trademark yourself or something. And two, thanks but no thanks, I really hate coffee.”

Lena pretended to gasp in shock, putting her hand over her chest in mock outrage. “What! That’s like, hate-speech in a place like this.”

Priyanka looked at her with a small smirk. “Oh yes, wouldn’t want you to call the caffeine-cops on me,” she teased, feeling her heart swell a bit when Lena started laughing at her joke. She liked making Lena laugh, for some reason. 

“We’ve got other stuff! I could make you a hot cocoa or something?”

She nodded aimlessly, too far gone to care about a drink. “Sure, cocoa sounds great.”

Lena smiled, reigniting their conversation as she made busy with her hands to make Priyanka’s drink. “So, you go to NYU too?” She questioned, gesturing at the taller girl’s crewneck, emblazoned with an embroidered purple bobcat.

Priyanka grinned, nodding. “Yeah, yeah, I’m a sophomore, working on my degree to become some sort of a teacher. You go to NYU? Why have I never seen you before?”

There was no way in hell Priyanka would’ve ever been able to look past a girl like this on campus.

Lemon placed a small hot cocoa in a travel cup on the counter, shrugging her shoulders. “Probably because I basically live in my dorm, outside of classes and work, of course. I’m not normally a huge social butterfly,” she admitted, her voice faltering a bit. She scrunched her nose in an attempt to keep her glasses from sliding further down her face, making Priyanka’s heart flutter at the adorableness of it. “Besides, I’m a freshman and a dance major, so it would be pretty odd for us to have classes together.”

“You’re a dancer? That’s really coo-”

“Excusez mon absence prolongée, sorry to interrupt you flirting with my roommate, Lemon, but I’ve got to get back on campus. Jimbo is losing her shit over studying for some exam. 𝘈𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘳!” Rita interrupted, having already taken the liberty of tossing the money for the pair’s drinks and a small tip for the blonde on the counter before pulling Priyanka out the door, killing her conversation with Lena before it had really gotten started. 

Priyanka frowned, frustrated with her roommate for ripping her away from the cute barista without giving her a chance to say goodbye. “Rita what the hell!! She was cute!!”

Rita shook her head, digging through her purse aimlessly. “Yeah, yeah, Lemon’s a sweet girl unless she’s wasted. I’ve heard stories about that one when she’s drunk, oy vey,” she spoke under her breath, thankfully pulling her keys out of her bag. “Thank Jesus.”

Pri slid into the passenger seat, feeling slightly confused as she did so. “Why do you keep calling her Lemon? Her name is Lena, at least that’s what she told me.”

Rita snickered, her eyes not meeting Priyanka’s as she started driving. “ Of course her name is Lena, doofus. Lemon….is a little nickname she earned herself during sorority recruitment back in August at a post-rush party...but that’s probably her story to tell,” she entailed. 

Frowning, Pri leaned back in her seat, and thought about the short conversation she shared with Lena. She hadn’t thought of the blonde as the type to be a messy drinker, or a drinker at all, honestly. Most college freshmen experimented with alcohol at least once, so Priyanka didn’t really have a right to feel any way about something she herself had indulged in before. 

“Quit pouting, Priyanka. Kiki is a friend of her roommates, pretty sure they’re sleeping together as of late. A math geek named Cayenne or something? Either way, I’ll have Kiki send you her phone number tonight after you do that paper,” Rita spoke sternly. 

Priyanka grinned, looking down at her cup. “No need,” she responded, looking at the series of neatly written numbers written on her cup in glitter pen alongside a small note, in cute little loopy letters. 

Text me!! - Lena :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! I hope y’all enjoyed :) shoutout to my fave @stillmumu for beta-ing for me!! Checkout my tumblr!!


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